Winnipeg Super 8 hotel installs carbon monoxide detectors following serious leak

A Winnipeg hotel installed a number of new carbon monoxide detectors after a leak sent 46 people to hospital last month.

A spokesperson from the government of Manitoba said Workplace Safety and Health issued an order requiring monitoring for carbon monoxide at the Super 8 Winnipeg West Hotel on July 24.

The hotel installed seven carbon monoxide detectors in public areas and hallways, and three propane and natural gas detectors in areas where gas appliances are used, on July 30, the province said in an email statement.

Earlier that month,Manitoba Hydro discovered improper venting of a boiler had led to the carbon monoxide poisoning of dozens of people.

"It appears carbon monoxide in the building built up because of inadequate ventilation related to gas-fired appliances. Instead ofbeing safely vented, exhaust was being drawn back into the building," Chuck Steele,engineering and construction director forManitoba Hydro, said at a press conference on July 10.

It's still not known what caused the leak.

All 46 people fully recovered from the poisoning.

Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service chief John Lane said after the incidentthe Super 8 passed its most recent carbon monoxide detector inspectionin 2017.

According to the government spokesperson, the office of the fire commissioner and Workplace Safety and Health continue to investigate and are undertaking tests to assess the equipment that was in place at the time of the incident.

The province declined to say how many detectors were on site at the time of the leak.